Infamous 2: Second Opinions

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Did other IGN editors agree with Colin's glowing assessment of the game?

By Colin Moriarty

It's no secret: I love Infamous 2. I gave it a 9.0 and an Editor's Choice award, and proclaimed on the most recent episode of Podcast Beyond that it's my favorite game of the year so far. But with a slew of other editors in the office playing the game, I figured I'd reach out to them to see what they thought of it.

Sucker Punch took what worked with the original Infamous and expanded on it, which I love. There are more side missions, a more diverse city, and plenty to do.

Editor Anthony Gallegos: B

Infamous 2 is a lot of fun. I'm not even the type of person to try and get 100% completion, but I searched for every collectible and did every side quest before I completed it. The new powers you have make the city a lot of fun to explore, and the environment itself is varied enough to keep you on your toes.

Editor Nicole Tanner: B

Playing as Cole is fun, and it's easy to lose yourself in the environments of New Marias. I also love how many drunk pedestrians there are walking around. "Screw y'all! Screw AA!" makes me giggle every time I hear it.

Editor Samuel Claiborn: C

The technically impressive sandbox of New Marais and the cool powers you use to navigate it are great, but Infamous 2 suffers from 'Assassin's Creed syndrome': It is too easy. A single button can be mashed to scale any building, and enemies are pushovers.

Editor Scott Lowe: B

A lot of sandbox games crumble under the weight of their own ambition, with game worlds that are too large and lack the smaller details that give them life. Not Infamous 2. The environment provides enough to do and explore without ever feeling monotonous. There's plenty of action to be had, but you can also relax with some casual parkour and shard farming if you want to.

The story of Infamous 2 is...

A) ...a wonderfully-told tale.

B) ...compelling, but also has problems.

C) ...contrived and boring.

D) ...is irrelevant to my enjoyment (or lack thereof) with the game.

Cole's launching his way through Floodtown.

Executive Editor Greg Miller: B

I think the quest to get stronger is a great idea, the relationship with Zeke is well done, and the endings are worth playing up to. However, Nix is a dumb character and I felt like there were monsters just to have monsters.

Editor Anthony Gallegos: B

I enjoyed the story in the sequel much more than the original, but it's still largely told through cut-scenes and radio transmissions. I know that it's always a challenge to balance fun and story, but I feel like a lot is lost when emotional moments are just conveyed in drawings or told through a haggard voice coming out of my speakers. That being said, I still wanted to finish the story to see how it all panned out.

Editor Nicole Tanner: B

I haven't finished the game, so I can't make a final judgment about the story, but so far it's pretty good. However, I've noticed Cole acting a bit out of character with the way I've chosen to play him in some of the cinematics.

Editor Samuel Claiborn: B

I like the X-Men-inspired "Human vs. Conduit" conflict set up by Infamous 2, but the major characters range from stereotypical (Cole) to annoying (Nix). Zeke is awesome, though.

Editor Scott Lowe: B

Sandbox games always make me feel more disconnected from the characters and story than more linear titles, but Infamous 2 has a unique premise and a surprising amount of backstory and detail to keep me interested.

Infamous 2's emphasis on morality and making choices...

A) ...catapults it at or near the top of a list of like-minded games.

B) ...works really well, adding depth to the experience.

C) ...adds replay value, but lacks tangible depth and meaning.

D) ...is a lame façade over the game's story that gives you a false feeling of choice.

Executive Editor Greg Miller: B

Some scoff at the black and white choice, but I like having the "other side" presented right there for me. It's a carrot on a stick that makes me want to replay the game and see how the story changes.

Editor Anthony Gallegos: C

The morality in Infamous 2 is pretty much as laughable as it was in the first game. The only reason you'd ever choose the bad option is to see how the story changes and to get the other special powers. So while it does add a reason to replay it, the choices are so black and white that they're never hard to make. Perhaps it'd be better if they just didn't tell you which was the good and which was the bad...

Editor Nicole Tanner: B

I feel like the choices in Infamous 2 have much more impact on the story than they did in the first game. Rather than just randomly choosing to save or not to save people, your choices have more impact on what powers you have as well as how people perceive you.

The Ice Conduits are everywhere!

Editor Samuel Claiborn: D

Those words are a bit strong, but morality/choice stuff has been done in so many recent games -- Fable, Mass Effect, Fallout -- that it's gone from just being a dull gimmick to a tired, dull gimmick.

Editor Scott Lowe: C

While I enjoy the morality system in Infamous 2, it's fairly easy to navigate. In story missions, the impact of critical moral decisions is obvious on the narrative, whereas smaller moral decisions in side missions have only a minor influence on how the game pans out. Compared to a game like Mass Effect 2, where decisions evolve your experience in unforeseen ways, Infamous 2 is pretty limited. Depending on your perspective though, that's not necessarily a bad thing.